THE MAP IS NOT THE TERRITORY
Throughout this collaborative publication, Akkaz collective focuses on areas in Kuwait’s geographic and geological scape through expeditious and detailed referenced research accompanied with images and maps. Such areas include; Sulaibikhat, Doha, Ras ‘Ushairij, Umm Al-Namil, and Shuwaikh.
Challenging the conventional structure of a research document, oral histories and the efforts of local journalists precede any didactic, mostly Western textual introduction/perception to a Kuwait Bay.
Following Kuwait’s Sulaibikhat and Doha coastlines (Kuwait Bay) this research-based and associated visual project retraces these isolated and misused spaces while unearthing the historical and social underpinnings of how these landscapes were and continue to be shaped.
This analogous document of research—comparable to the contextual structure and organization of the visual exhibition aforementioned in this document’s introduction—is also divided into three consecutive, overlapping concentric tiers:
Throughout this document on the neglected geographies dispersed across Kuwait Bay, Akkaz Collective’s intention is to emphasize a counter-strategy—one that excavates and platforms the local histories of these peripheral locations that have yet to be recorded or acknowledged from a systemized and largely Westernized academe.
Throughout this collaborative publication, Akkaz collective focuses on areas in Kuwait’s geographic and geological scape through expeditious and detailed referenced research accompanied with images and maps. Such areas include; Sulaibikhat, Doha, Ras ‘Ushairij, Umm Al-Namil, and Shuwaikh.
Challenging the conventional structure of a research document, oral histories and the efforts of local journalists precede any didactic, mostly Western textual introduction/perception to a Kuwait Bay.
Following Kuwait’s Sulaibikhat and Doha coastlines (Kuwait Bay) this research-based and associated visual project retraces these isolated and misused spaces while unearthing the historical and social underpinnings of how these landscapes were and continue to be shaped.
This analogous document of research—comparable to the contextual structure and organization of the visual exhibition aforementioned in this document’s introduction—is also divided into three consecutive, overlapping concentric tiers:
- an ecological level or scope where the focus of this research directory lies in the coastal mudflats,
- an industrial level that examines the coastal spaces of Sulaibikhat and Doha as Kuwait's epicenter for water desalination plants and the now abandoned American military camp,
- and a conceptural level, which will be addressed near the end of this document how Akkaz Collective traced patterns and historical significance throughout the geographic triangulation of the now demolished Entertainment City theme park, Doha’s nature reserve, and the newly constructed causeway that bridges the densely populated city to this swampy, neglected geography.
Throughout this document on the neglected geographies dispersed across Kuwait Bay, Akkaz Collective’s intention is to emphasize a counter-strategy—one that excavates and platforms the local histories of these peripheral locations that have yet to be recorded or acknowledged from a systemized and largely Westernized academe.
The Map is Not the Territory
Collaborative publication
Malak Al Suwaihel
Aziz Motawa
Designed by Hamad Al Mujeem
2023
Collaborative publication
Malak Al Suwaihel
Aziz Motawa
Designed by Hamad Al Mujeem
2023
